***

Zavier Yutsuko

"Anak! Anak! Wake up!" Sunod sunod na sigaw ni mom. Nagtalukbong agad ako ng comforter at tinabunan ng pillow ang ulo ko. Goodness it's too early to get up. But Mom didn't stop knocking my door at halos matanggal na ang pinto ko kakahampas niya.

"Mom! 5 minutes!!" I shouted back. Ibinaon ko ang aking ulo sa aking unan at itinaklob pabalik ang aking comforter. They gave me such comfortable bed, with fully air-conditioned room tapos ayaw nilang sulitin ko ang tulog ko?

My Mom spoke. "Dios ko anak, first day of classes malelate ka!" Napa-ingos na lang ako and tried sleeping again.

I hate getting up early. Halata namang hindi ako morning person. I closed my eyes, but dahil sa ginawa ni Mom, NAHIHIRAPAN na akong bumalik sa tulog ko. And suddenly... Her voice somewhat ringed in my head again.

'Diyos ko anak, first day of classes malelate ka!'

Marahas akong napa-angat sa aking ulo. "What?" I frustratedly mumbled and picked up my phone on my bedside table na muntikan pang mahulog dahil sa pagmamadali. For Pete's sake this is a damn Iphone.

When I opened my phone, bumungad kaagad sa'kin ang reminder sa notifications ko.

'First Day of Classes, Get Up Early Stupid'

Pabalang kong binagsak ang cellphone ko sa aking tabi. Fudge, may pasok na nga. Fun days are over and hell days are on. Nanatili pa ring nakabaon ang ulo ko sa aking unan. I don't want to go to school. It's boring there.

Lectures? Exams? Practicals? DELE LANG.

But on the second thought, hindi ko man makakain ang mga subjects na yon, kapag nag-aral ako atleast hindi madadagdagan ang hatred ng pamilya sa'kin. They won't disown me...

Kamot ulong pumasok ako sa banyo, at dali daling naligo. I don't know kung matatawag bang ligo iyon sa pagmamadali, but this is the typical me.

JUST A GOOD WAY TO START MY SCHOOL LIFE.

I opened my walk-in-closet and nakasanayan ko ng i-welcome ng mga damit kong nakasalansang mabuti sa cabinet, mga sapatos na nakalagay sa isang cabinet din na may mga sari-sarili silang box to occupy, my jewelries are arranged like they are sold by some jewelry shop, and my perfumes na parang iko-commercial.

Luxurios life? I must say yes. KInuha ko na ang pinakamalapit na nakuha ng kamay ko and wear it as it is. I finally fixed my golden watch on my wrist, and faced my body-length mirror. Cool as always. White shirt, ripped jeans and a converse suits me really well.

Kulang na lang tawaging Department Store tong walk-in-closet ko but sadly hindi ko naman nagagamit lahat. After I got satisfied with my look, I went to my scents section. And got the Amethyst Flaire by PRES Scents. I sprayed it all over my body at ibinalik sa lagayan nito.

I went back to where my bed lies, and looked around. My room is my safe space. It calms me everytime papasok ako rito. My bedroom's theme is a mix of color skyblue, lavender and gray.

Without further ado, kinuha ko na ang nakahandang ID ko sa study table and went outside. When I look at the Grandfather clock sa may couch ng second floor my eyes widened. Shit! Sobrang late ko na talaga!

I even almost tripped when I was going down the stairs, good thing I'm still lucky enough para hindi mabalian ng buto. Our house is huge, well yun ang sabi nila.

"Oh? Nandyan ka na pala wachie," sabi ni Daichie.

I smiled at them nang marating ko ang dining table. Unfortunately he's my Kuya, Dwayne Zachary Yutsuko. Ang Kuya kong hindi ko maintindihan kong bakit binigay ng Diyos sa'kin.

He calls me wachi, because I'm his baby of course, bunso ako eh.

"Yeah. Daichie." Inikutan ko pa siya ng mata at umupo na. Well maliban sa panget siya sa paningin ko, he's SISS short for sobrang impressed sa sarili. Well he's known in Cantrell Academy for being a playboy, I don't know why, eh ang panget niya.

Pumunta na ako sa dining table, at umupo.

"Ohh anak, kain na," yaya ni Mom and as I sat agad niyang nilagyan ng pagkain ang plato ko. Umalis si Daichi sa hapag, but nevermind kakain na 'ko.

Ilang minuto na ang lumipas, hindi pa bumabalik si Daichi. I wiped my mouth with the napkin beside my hand. "Mom, asan na si Daichi? Bakit hindi bumalik?" She didn't face me tho, but she answered.

"Una nang umalis ang Kuya mo. Hindi niya daw gusto ma-late."

Tumango na lang ako and continued eating. Bahala siya sa buhay niya, malaki naman na 'yon. After eating my main breakfast, inabot ko ang strawberry pancake, and started eating. I mentally clapped as the food touched my tongue. Woah, sarap talaga.

"Mom, believe me. He went early cause of girls. Magpapasikat lang 'yon." May nagdabog agad sa may comfort room. And Mom and Dad laughed.

"Daichi, kala ko umalis ka na?" I asked as if wala akong sinabi tungkol sa kanya. Sinamaan niya lang ako ng tingin, and I continued eating. But naiwan sa ere ang kamay ko nang makuha ng paningin ko ang pigura ng taong yun sa may bungad ng dining room.

He's here, my Dad's here. Akala ko matagal pa siya bago bumalik? My brother went to him in an instant. "Dad!" sigaw pa nito and hugged him like what men does.

I wiped again my mouth at tumayo. Sinalubong ko siya and greeted him. "You're back, Dad," simpleng ani ko and bowed a little to show him respect. Ngumiti lang siya sa'kin and my brother and also Mom just stared at us. Bumalik na ako sa hapag kainan at pinagpatuloy ang pagkain ko.

Aga niya namang bumalik. Akala ko nga hindi na sila babalik dito. Mom came here a month ago, kami lang kasi ni Daichi ang nandito sa Pinas. And Daichi usually lives in his own condo. Leaving me here all alone. In this boring big house.

"Dad ba't di niyo sinabi na uuwi kayo? Sana sinabi niyo para nasundo namin kayo." Halatang halata ang boses ni Daichi at inalalayan pang makaupo si Dad in his usual spot, kung saan umuupo ang isang padre de pamilya.

Linagyan ni Mom ng pagkain si Dad and made his coffee too. And as usual, tahimik lang akong kumakain, not minding the shits they are tAlking about. Natural, hindi naman ako kasali sa mga sinasabi nila.

"Zach, you know I love surprising you all." Natatawang ani Dad.

Taigen Yutsuko. My Dad, a known Japanese Business Tycoon and came from a fine clan in Japan.

"Gonna go now, Dad. Welcome back," paalam ko at umalis na sa lamesa.

Ramdam ko ang mga tingin nila sa likod ko, but I don't care.

I picked up my dark blue backpack na nakalagay sa may couch. "Dad, where's my pasalubong?" I can see them from here, nagiging bata na naman si Daichi. He's too old to use that tone, it's disgusting.

Dad went to get his luggage sa may couch din katabi ng akin. "That small luggage, it's yours." Napatingin ako sa kanya and breathed out heavily. "Thanks, Dad."

Nag-iwan pa siya ng tingin bago bumalik sa lamesa. I sat down at binuksan ang maletang bigay niya. There lies a skateboard with white base. Ang ganda, white ang color ng base niya, with black and red sakura flowers. Under it is my name engraved with a gold ink.

Z.A.V.I.E.R.

"Woah," tanging sambit ko. Napahinga ako nang malalim. Ang saya naman nilang mag-usap. This house has never been this noisy pag wala sila. They talk like they're some kind of a happy family. Fudge, they are making me sick.

Umalis na ako and rode my new skateboard. May kalapitan lang naman ang school dito sa'min. And beside why bother worrying about being late kung late naman na talaga ako. Lumabas ang munti kong ngiti habang binabaybay ang daan ng subdvision namin.

Ang banayad na hampas ng hangin sa aking mukha ay talaga namang nakakagaan ng loob sobra.

I'm Zavier Yutsuko. Well, Zavier really isn't my real name. Short version lang yan. My grandfather named me, Zerika Annaisha Vauxx Iestyn Ezumi Ruri Yutsuko. 17 years existing, and studying at National Silvestre's Learning Institute.

The world is vast and wide. So am I.

Ready to read my journey?

***

PRES.